USF, UConn dealing with host of injuries

On Paul Pasqualoni's conference call on Thursday he was asked if he felt the Huskies were snake bitten in the injury department after senior offensive guard Adam Masters and freshman defensive end E.J. Norris were lost for the season with ankle and shoulder injuries respectively.

"It is part of the game," Pasqualoni said. "Losing Adam Masters and the versatility he gave us, that was unfortunate. We’ve been in this and we’ve lost good players. It’s not at the point where I feel snake bitten."

If Pasqualoni wants to see what it's like to be a bit snake bitten injury wise, he needs to merely take a glance across the field tonight as the number of injuries suffered by South Florida is staggering.

Leading rusher Lindsey Lamar is the latest key player for USF to go down as he fractured his collarbone in the fourth quarter of last week's loss to Syracuse. USF coach Skip Holtz is not ready to declare Lamar lost for the season but said he definitely is out for tonight's game. He is far from the only one.

The Bulls could be without both starting offensive guards Danous Estenor and Mark Popek, tight end Evan Landi, receivers Derrick Hopkins, Andre Davis and D'Vario Montgomery and defensive end Ryan Giddens for the game tonight. If all of those players are held out of the game, the injured players will have more receptions (84), receiving yards (1,053) and TD catches (10) than the ones who are suiting up. For those scoring at home, USF could be without 56 percent of its catches and receiving yards and 71 percent of its TD receptions.